Denominazione di Origine Controllata

Denominazione di Origine Controllata is the Italian equivalent of the French “Appelation of Controlled Origin” system. It was begun in 1963, and rejigged in 1992 to conform with the European Union’s “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO) programme, which came into effect in 1993. DOC is now the Italian equivalent of an EU PDO.

DOC certified food has to be produced in a certain area using certain methods and meeting certain standards for that particular product.

There are two DOC levels:

DOC: Denominazione di Origine Controllata

DOCG: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita

The DOCG is a higher designation, subject to higher regulation and standards. It came about because the original DOC level had become so discredited owing to fraud and producers evading their own rules, that the government had to create the higher level, “DOCG — Denominazione di origine controllata garantita.” Roughly translated into English, it means “honestly, you can trust this one.”

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‘You first parents of the human race…who ruined yourself for an apple, what might you have done for a truffled turkey?’ — Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (French food writer. 1 April 1755 – 2 February 1826)